Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956) was an American painter who is widely regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He faced financial difficulties in his early career. However, he developed his trademark style of Drip painting in the late 1940s becoming one of the most renowned artists in the United States. Such was his influence that in 1949 Life magazine published an article about him which asked “Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?” However, at the peak of his artistic career, Pollock abandoned the drip painting style and withdraw himself both socially and artistically. He died in a car crash on August 11, 1956 at the age of 44. Know all about Jackson Pollock including his biography, interesting facts about him, his most famous paintings and his quotes.
BIOGRAPHY
Born on January 28, 1912 in Cody, Wyoming, U.S., Paul Jackson Pollock was the youngest of five sons of LeRoy Pollock and his wife Stella May. When he grew up, Pollock followed his two elder brothers into the art world but he faced financial difficulties in his early career. Pollock met his future wife Lee Krasner in 1942, and through her support, he began making a mark as an artist. Pollock developed his trademark style of Drip painting in the late 1940s and it made him internationally renowned. Pollock had a lifelong issue with alcohol and, on August 11, 1956, at 10:15 pm, he died in a car crash while driving under the influence of alcohol. He was 44 years old. Know more about the family, life, childhood, education, marriage, artistic career and death of Jackson Pollock through his biography.
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INTERESTING FACTS
Pollock’s art has been a subject of much scrutiny with some hailing it as the best paintings of its day while others calling it a joke in bad taste. Despite such diverse opinions, Pollock was undoubtedly one of the most influential artists of his era and several of his paintings have ranked among the most expensive paintings ever sold. There are many interesting stories related to Pollock. A long-haul truck driver from California claims that she possesses an original painting by Pollock which she purchased for $5. Moreover, fractal analysis of his paintings prove that they resemble natural patterns. Know more through these 10 interesting facts.
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FAMOUS PAINTINGS
Jackson Pollock was among the most influential artists of the art movement Abstract Expressionism, a movement which emphasized on conveying strong emotional or expressive content through abstraction. Moreover, Pollock developed his own unique style called drip painting in which paint is dripped or poured onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. His most famous works include Blue Poles, which was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia in 1973 for A$1.3 million; and No. 5, 1948, which created the world record for the highest price paid for a painting when it was sold for a price of $140 million. Here are the 10 most famous paintings by Jackson Pollock.
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BEST QUOTATIONS
1. “The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through.”
2. “It doesn’t make much difference how the paint is put on as long as something has been said. Technique is just a means of arriving at a statement.”
3. “Painting is self-discovery. Every good artist paints what he is.”
4. “Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn’t have any beginning or any end. He didn’t mean it as a compliment, but it was.”
5. “The modern artist is working with space and time, and expressing his feelings rather than illustrating.”
6. “On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.”
7. “When I say artist I mean the man who is building things – creating molding the earth – whether it be the plains of the west – or the iron ore of Penn. It’s all a big game of construction – some with a brush – some with a shovel – some choose a pen.”
8. “I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own.”
9. “I’m very representational some of the time, and a little all of the time. But when you’re painting out of your unconscious, figures are bound to emerge.”
10. “My paintings do not have a center, but depend on the same amount of interest throughout.”